Chuck vs The Fall
by Seraphim25
Summary: Chuck always believed that Sarah was the strongest person he knew. So when something bad happens to her will Chuck be able to cope? In this story Chuck and Sarah are married and Chuck has the intersect.
1. Chapter 1

Hi all- Here is the first chapter of my first Chuck story. I hope you enjoy it!

Please read and review to let me know what you think and if I should continue. Thanks!

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It was two in the morning when the phone rang. Chuck startled awake, then rolled lazily to the side so he could reach it. He felt a flicker of annoyance but it only lasted a moment. Getting calls at all hours of the day and night was normal in his household. Between his jobs as a nerd herder and a spy, he'd had even more wake up calls than most on call doctors.

The only unusual thing this time was that he was alone. Normally Sarah would be there to nudge him awake, reluctant to answer the phone herself. But Sarah had gone on a mission with Casey earlier that evening, and he wasn't expecting her back for another few hours.

When Chuck saw Casey's picture pop up on the screen, his first thought was that maybe his teammates needed the intersect after all. He didn't mind being sidelined on this mission. It was fairly straightforward, and he knew his wife was more than capable of taking care of herself, but Chuck was still hoping to get in on the action.

"Yeah Casey?" he answered, his voice a bit groggy from sleep.

"Chuck? Where are you?" asked Casey.

The urgent tone of Casey's voice gave Chuck goosebumps. His body was immediately flooded with anxiety.

"I'm at home. What's wrong? Where's Sarah?" Chuck asked his questions in quick succession, hoping against hope that she was safe.

"Not sure. There were more guards here than we thought and they caught her. I don't want to go in until I have backup."

Chuck's blood ran cold. He pushed the button for speakerphone and hurried around, throwing on the first pair of pants and t-shirt he could find.

"Where are you?" he asked, searching for the keys to the Nerd Herder.

"An abandoned warehouse outside Santa Barbara. Beckman's trying to send backup, but there was a bomb threat at the state house and they're understaffed. Damn terrorists!"

"I'll be right there!" Chuck promised, rushing out the door while Casey gave him directions.

As he drove down the highway, faster than the legal limit, Chuck took deep breaths to steady himself. He was worried about Sarah, there was no question about that, but he knew she would get out of this. _She'll probably have escaped by the time I arrive_, Chuck told himself. There was no better fighter than Sarah, and he had the utmost faith in her. That didn't mean he was going to drive less than eighty miles per hour though.

When Chuck reached the address Casey had given him, he immediately spotted Sarah's Lotus, next to which stood the colonel. He grabbed his tranq gun and hurried over to his partner.

"Any word from Sarah?" he asked.

"No, but I think she's on the top floor. I heard voices coming from there but there were too many guards to stage an attack. Are you ready to fight?"

Chuck nodded, his face set, and followed behind Casey.

"When we get up there," Casey whispered, "we're gonna sneak in and shoot as many as possible before they see us. Your main job is to get Sarah free so she can help us fight. Got it?"

Chuck nodded his agreement. He had confidence in Casey's abilities and would do whatever he said, especially to save Sarah.

As the men approached the top floor, they heard the sound of angry voices. It sounded as though someone were being threatened, and Chuck felt sick knowing it was his wife. Casey took a quick glance inside of the room, and then whispered to Chuck,

"Nine guards. Three are armed...shoot them first."

As soon as Casey gave him firm nod, Chuck went in and aimed his gun at the first guard he saw, shooting him with two darts to be safe. He looked over at Casey and saw that he had taken down the other armed guards but was now fighting off three more men, apparently having lost his weapon..

Chuck looked at Sarah for a brief moment. She had a trickle of blood running down her face but seemed otherwise unharmed. Chuck couldn't reach her though, because two burly men were approaching him, fists clenched. Chuck shot the larger of the two, but the single dose of tranquilizer didn't seem to be strong enough. As he lifted his gun for the second time, the other man kicked it out of his hand.

Chuck flashed on some martial arts and took the heftier of the two men down fairly easily. The second man seemed to be more highly skilled though, because he was putting up a good fight. Out of the corner of his eye, he noted that the last guard was untying Sarah from the heavy chair, already starting to drag her away. This made Chuck smile to himself, the guy had no idea that Sarah would have him knocked out on the floor within seconds of getting her hands free.

Chuck turned his focus back to the man with whom he was fighting. His opponent was in excellent shape, but Chuck was confident that he would win the fight with just a little more time. The muscular man was already growing tired.

He chanced a glance at Sarah once more and grinned when he saw she had already taken down her opponent. She began making her way over to help Chuck, when one of the men Casey had been fighting made a run for it. He dashed up a nearby staircase, and Sarah followed him.

Less than a minute later, Chuck finally dealt a blow to his opponent's head that was strong enough to knock him out. He looked over at Casey and saw that he was battling one last particularly fit man, but seemed to be holding his own. Without another thought, he raced up the stairs to find Sarah.

He climbed up to the roof and was relieved to see her immediately, dealing a roundhouse kick to the muscular man's head. He felt the familiar swell of pride rise up in his chest as he watched his wife's physical prowess. He moved quickly to help her, worried because she was still bleeding a bit from the head, but as he approached, her opponent managed to give her a hard push towards the edge of he building. Chuck's breath caught in his throat. He wished he had his gun, but it was somewhere entirely unreachable on the floor below.

Sarah planted her hands on the low wall behind her and kicked her feet against the chest of the large man before her. He fell to the ground and for a moment Chuck thought he was down for the count.

Chuck looked at Sarah and was about to smile in relief, but then he noticed that the guard was still conscious. He shouted out something, he wasn't sure what, and Sarah realized that the man on the ground was moving. She went to kick him again, but he reached out one of his immense hands and grabbed her ankle, throwing her off balance. Then, with his other hand he grabbed Sarah's other foot and lifted both her legs up, causing her to lose her balance and begin to tip backwards.

Everything that happened after that seemed to Chuck to be in slow motion. He ran towards her, hoping to be able to grab her hand, but wasn't fast enough. Sarah grappled with the side of the roof, and for a second Chuck thought she would be able to catch herself. But to his horror, his wife's hand slipped from the wet edge, and she tumbled backwards, out of Chuck's line of vision, an expression of fear on her face.

"Nooooo!" yelled Chuck. He didn't even bother to look off of the roof, instead finding the nearest fire escape and climbing down as quickly as he could. The ladder was slick with rainwater as well, and he nearly slipped and fell himself. Somehow he managed to reach the bottom safely though, and he rushed over to where his wife's body lay, forebodingly still. A part of Chuck wanted to run away and never look back. He didn't want to see his wife lying so lifelessly. _What if she's..._he thought, but couldn't bear to finish the sentence, even in his own head.

But despite his fears, there was no way that Chuck would be able to avoid going to Sarah. He was drawn to her as strongly as he always had been.

Chuck finally reached Sarah's body, and he felt the panic within him threaten to boil over. He would never be able to forget the way she looked in that moment. One of her legs was angled in a way that made him feel sick to his stomach, and her hair was caked with blood and dirt. He got down on his knees beside her and slowly, soulfully, moved her hair away from her face. Her right cheek was already bruising and the rest of her face was white in the moonlight, but the only thing that concerned him was the spot on her neck, just below her jaw, that would tell him whether he still had a reason for living.

He felt around for a few seconds, getting more and more anxious, until he finally felt the slow but steady rhythm that was her pulse. Feeling a seed of hope, Chuck glance down at her chest and saw an almost imperceptible rise and fall.

Grateful beyond words that she was still alive, Chuck took out his phone to call for help. Once he had explained to the operator what had happened and where he was, he hung up and dialed Casey's number.

"Where are you?" Casey asked at once.

"I'm in the back of the building," answered Chuck, "on the lawn. Sarah...Sarah fell off the roof!"

"Be right there," Casey answered, and the call disconnected.

Chuck slid his phone back into his pocket and huddled over his wife once more, begging her to be okay.

"Help is coming, Sarah. Just hang on. Please, hang on. You're gonna be fine."

He hoped to God he wasn't lying.

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Thanks so much for reading! Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Here is the next chapter. Thanks so much for all the wonderful reviews last time. I will have to continue!

By the way, I don't own any part of Chuck. Obviously.

Enjoy!

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Casey soon found the spot where Sarah had fallen, and although he tried to put on a brave face, it was easy to see that he knew how dire the situations was. Sarah seemed to have lost almost a pint of blood, and he knew she had to have some internal bleeding.

Casey stood watch over his two partners, his normally tough heart breaking at the sight of Sarah's helplessness and Chuck's desperation. After about ten minutes, Casey heard large vehicles approaching the warehouse and went to see if it was the rescue squad. It turned out to be the back up Beckman had promised, about an hour too late. When Casey explained to the officers what had happened, they grabbed their emergency supplies and followed him to Sarah's location. They went right to work, putting her neck in a brace and bandaging her head, but there wasn't much more they could do without the EMTs.

Luckily the ambulance wasn't far behind, and soon Sarah was being placed on a stretcher, Chuck hovering over her as if his presence alone would save her. Although, Casey had to admit that if anyone's presence could save Sarah, it woupe be her husband's.

Casey watched Chuck as he followed the stretcher to the nearby ambulance. For a second, Casey thought the EMTs were not going to let Chuck ride along, but breathed a sigh of relief when the tall man was allowed to enter the ambulance. He would have had a tough time explaining to the NSA why the intersect had taken out a team of paramedics.

Once the door to the ambulance was shut, Casey walked over to Sarah's car, which they had taken to get to their mission. He knew she would kill him when she found out he had driven her precious vehicle, but hoped she would be alive to do so.

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As Chuck sat in the ambulance near Sarah, watching her being poked and prodded by the EMT, he was taken back to the last time he had been in a similar situation. It was just after their engagement party, and although he had been cradling Sarah's unconscious body in the back of Ellie and Awesome's van instead of in an ambulance, he couldn't help but get a sense of deja vu.

He had known Sarah was a spy almost from the beginning. Danger had always been a part of their relationship, but Chuck knew that Sarah was a great spy. An awesome spy. The best. He had never been nearly as worried about her safety as he supposed he could have. It was her job to protect him, and she had done it so well that he had taken for granted she would always be there for him. Even after she had been poisoned, Chuck hadn't lost faith in her. That had been a fluke. She had been targeted by Vivian to get to him, and she had made it out alive and whole.

This was different. She had been defeated. Chuck hated to admit it, because she was his hero, but Sarah had lost a fight. Her mangled body was proof of that. He had always thought his wife was infallible, but what if she wasn't? What if this was it?

Chuck shuddered, but was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of the back doors opening on the ambulance. Sarah's hand slid from his own as she and the stretcher were lowered to the ground. Chuck hopped down himself and jogged alongside as his wife was brought into the hospital. Soon nurses and doctors had surrounded them, and Chuck was inundated by confusing medical terminology. He wished that Ellie were there, so she could explain some of it to him.

As they reached a set of double doors at the end of the hallway, one of the nurses pulled him aside.

"You can't go in there," he said, apologetically.

"But she's my wife," Chuck pleaded, "I need to be with her."

The nurse looked sympathetic but explained his reasoning. "She's going into surgery, so you'd only get in the way. We're going to need you to fill out some paperwork in the waiting room anyway. I'll keep you updated every step of the way," he promised, seeing the look of sorrow on Chuck's face.

Chuck agreed, willing to do anything so that Sarah could be taken care of, and followed the nurse into a nearby waiting room. Once he was alone, he glanced at the paperwork but couldn't bring himself to fill it out just yet. He needed to tell Casey where they were, and call Ellie. He knew she would come sit with him. Although he felt badly about dragging his sister out of bed in the middle of the night, she was the most trustworthy doctor he knew, and he wanted her to be keeping an eye on Sarah.

After Chuck had made his calls, he set to work completing Sarah's paperwork. He was careful to fill out every section as completely as possible, so that nothing would get in the way of Sarah's care.

By the time he had finished, Casey was seated beside him. "What happened back there?" the colonel asked, visibly concerned.

"Sarah was fighting that big guard who ran away from you, and he managed to push her off the roof. I didn't even see where he went," Chuck admitted guiltily. "I was too busy checking on Sarah."

"I don't think he was a guard," said Casey. "He was too well trained. I think he was the leader."

"Leader?" repeated Chuck. "What was this mission about anyway?"

Casey began explaining that he and Sarah were supposed to capture and arrest a man, Ken Greer, who was selling advanced weapons technology to nations in the Middle East. They had gotten a tip that the warehouse would be a good place to find clues, but it turned out to be a meeting place for Greer and his staff. As a result, Casey and Sarah had been attacked unexpectedly, and Sarah was captured.

Chuck only heard bits of what Casey was saying. His mind refused to focus on anything but thoughts of his wife, and prayers that she would recover. After nearly an hour with no news of Sarah's condition, both Chuck and Casey were relieved when Ellie walked in the room.

"Chuck!" she exclaimed, rushing over to hug him. "Have you heard anything yet?"  
Chuck shook his head, feeling as though his heart might break in two at any second. "How far did she fall? What were her injuries?" Ellie asked anxiously.

"Over eight stories," Chuck answered numbly. "She at least had a broken leg, and a lot of bruising, and there was blood-" he began to get choked up "-a lot of blood..."  
Tears began to make their way to Chuck's eyes, causing Ellie to wrap her arms around her brother once more.

The three sat in solemn silence for over a half hour more until Casey's phone began to ring. "Beckman," he grunted, and left the waiting room to take his call.

When he returned he carried a tray containing steaming coffees, and gave one to each of them.

"What did Beckman say?" Chuck asked, not even bothering to sip the coffee. His stomach was churning dangerously and he didn't want to upset it further.

"She apologized for the misinformation and said that we don't need to report to Castle tomorrow."

"That's nice of her," scoffed Chuck, feeling bitterness towards the redheaded general who had sent his wife into an unknown situation. He rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

"It was a mistake Bartowski. It happens."

Chuck wasn't about to back down. It felt good to have a distraction from his emotional turmoil. "It shouldn't have happened! She shouldn't have sent you into a situation that wasn't safe!"

Casey started at him incredulously. "Have you lost your mind?" he growled. "You know what a spy does. You know it's risky. So does Walker. It's what we all signed up for."

Chuck was about to come back with some cruel retort, and Ellie must have known it, because she gave him a look and said pointedly, "I know you're upset but this isn't helping."

Chuck nodded and hung his head, once again flooded with worries about Sarah. He hadn't meant to argue with Casey like that, but all this waiting was driving him crazy.

After another couple of hours and a few bites of breakfast that Ellie brought from the cafeteria, a woman in a white coat finally entered the waiting room. Chuck stood up immediately, hoping that she would have some good news about Sarah.

"Are you Mrs. Bartowski's husband?" the doctor asked him.

"Yes," he replied. The thrill he normally felt at hearing Sarah referred to as Mrs. Bartowski was conspicuously absent.

"She's out of surgery, but still in critical condition. We were able to stop most of the internal bleeding, and the rest will hopefully heal on it's own."  
Chuck nodded, not sure whether that was a good thing.

"Her left femur and tibia both had breaks," she continued, "so her whole leg is in a cast, as is her left arm. And, she fractured her fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae, so those will need to heal as well."

Chuck was completely overwhelmed by the information he had just been given. He looked over at Ellie and was glad to see that she seemed to have understood what the doctor had said. He'd have to have her spell it out for him later.

"So, will she be okay?" asked Chuck, too nervous and tired to be embarrassed by how dumb his question sounded.

"It's too soon to tell," the doctor answered kindly. "She's in a medically induced coma right now, so that her body can heal as well as to save her from the pain of her injuries. If she makes it through the next couple of days we'll try waking her up and go from there."

Chuck felt his chest seize up at the way the doctor said _if she makes it_, but he pushed his fear aside. "Could I see her?" he asked hopefully.

The doctor nodded and said, "Yes. She won't be awake but you're welcome to sit with her as long as you'd like. Just ask the nurses' station for directions to her room."

Chuck managed to give the doctor some semblance of a smile as she walked out of the room. Once she had left, he turned towards his sister, needing her to translate what the doctor had said.

"Sarah's hurt pretty badly Chuck," Ellie said honestly. "If her body can heal itself, then she should be okay. If not...well...Sarah's strong. If anyone can get through this it's Sarah."

Chuck was comforted by his sister's positive attitude, but he knew that she wasn't able to tell him that Sarah would definitely be okay, and that scared him. But Chuck knew that he needed to be with Sarah. He hoped that he could will her to get better, give her strength to heal.

"I'm going to go sit with her," he informed Ellie and Casey.

They nodded, unsurprised, but Ellie warned, "She's not going to look like herself Chuck. She'll have a lot of bandages and wires and tubes attached. I just don't want it to scare you."

Chuck thanked Ellie and Casey saying, "Thanks for sitting with me. I'm going to be here for a while, so you guys should get home and rest."

"Alright," said Ellie reluctantly. "I'll come by after my shift today and bring you some dinner."

"I'll let Beckman know what the doctor said," assured Casey, before leaving with Ellie.

Chuck sat alone for a few minutes, trying to prepare himself for seeing a comatose Sarah. Once he realized that being prepared for such a thing was impossible, he went to get directions to where he could find his wife.

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Thanks for reading! Please review! I welcome comments and constructive criticism.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you to all my wonderful readers and reviewers. I appreciate you all!

As always, I don't own Chuck.

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Every step Chuck took towards the ICU increased his trepidation and his headache. When he finally reached Sarah's door, he took a deep breath and then entered. At first he wasn't sure he had the right room; the woman lying in the bed seemed so much smaller than Sarah. But when he saw a bit of blonde hair sticking out from beneath a head bandage, he knew it was her.

Slowly, Chuck approached the bed, reaching out to take Sarah's free hand in his own. He lifted it to his lips and kissed it before falling to his knees at her bedside, sobs wracking his body.

All he could think was that this wasn't supposed to happen. Sarah was a great spy, she wasn't supposed to get hurt. She was too important to him to be so severely injured. And there was nothing he could do. There was no antidote for him to find this time. He could only wait to see if Sarah would be able to recover.

Sarah remained in the coma for five days, and Chuck never once left the hospital. Ellie and Morgan tried to lure him out with invitations for dinner and video games, but he couldn't bear to leave his wife. Casey even tried to convince him to help hunt down the man who had put Sarah in the hospital, but Chuck felt too depressed to be vengeful, and he knew that Casey was capable of conducting the search on his own.

Besides his emotional pain Chuck was also suffering physically. His head was still hurting terribly, but he assumed it was a result of stress. The headaches reminded him of when the intersect was malfunctioning, but he hadn't flashed in weeks. He took ibuprofen and suffered through, unwilling to leave his wife.

Finally, after nearly a week of sitting by Sarah's unconscious body, talking to her nonstop in hopes that it would help bring her back to him, Chuck was told that Sarah seemed strong enough to be taken out of the coma.

"So does that mean she'll be okay?" he asked the doctor eagerly.

"We still don't know," she replied. "Mrs. Bartowski still has a small amount of bleeding, and her back isn't healed yet, but it's looking promising. She'll have to be on a lot of pain medication when she wakes up, but if there aren't any complications, she'll be able to go home this week."

Chuck smiled gratefully at the doctor, and stepped out of the way so she could wake Sarah from the coma. Chuck waited with bated breath as Sarah's breathing slowly intensified, and her eyes began to blink open.

"Chu-," she managed to say, her voice gravelly from lack of use.

"I'm right here baby," he comforted her, holding her hand tightly and stroking her forehead.

"What...happened?"

"You fell off a roof, honey. You've been in a coma for a few days, but you're getting better." He looked over at the doctor, hoping he had explained things accurately. She nodded, then moved towards Sarah and began examining her.

When she was done she smiled at Sarah and said kindly, "Everything's looking pretty good. I want to have you moved out of the ICU. We're still going to keep you closely monitored, and you're going to have a lot of pain, but I'm optimistic."

Sarah didn't seem to have caught all of what the doctor said, perhaps because of how heavily medicated she was, but Chuck was beaming. She would be okay. He called his friends and family to update them, while Sarah was transferred to a regular hospital room a few floors up.

The rest of that day and the next were considerably better than the past few. Sarah slept most of the time, and was too weak to make much conversation, but Chuck was grateful just to be with her. He got so much joy out of seeing her blue eyes, and hearing her faint laugh when he made a joke, that he thought his heart might burst.

Ellie and Devon came to visit, as did Morgan and Alex. Sarah was pleased to have the company, but became tired out easily, so none of the visitors stayed for long.

Just after dinner that evening, which Chuck tried his best to convince Sarah to eat, Sarah turned to Chuck and said, "I want you to go home tonight."

Chuck was surprised and a little hurt, and Sarah must have been able to tell, because she backtracked. "I don't want you to leave, but I know you've been here for a week now, and you need to take some time for yourself. I don't want you to burn out."

"I won't, Sarah. You _are_ my home. I want to stay with you."

"I know Chuck, but you need to spend a night in a proper bed." Chuck began to shake his head.

"Go!" She ordered, "But I expect you back here first thing in the morning. And you'd better bring me a croissant!"

Chuck finally smiled and agreed. He knew he could use a night to recoup, and it would only be for a few hours. Maybe it would be what he needed to get rid of his headache. Besides, Sarah was doing much better, and the alone time would probably be good for her.

Chuck got up and kissed Sarah good night, before grabbing his overnight bag and leaving the hospital. He missed her already, but he had to admit that he was long-overdue for some fresh air.

Chuck got into bed almost as soon as he got home, and fell asleep immediately. His bed was so much more comfortable than the old cot provided by the hospital. Thoroughly exhausted, Chuck managed to sleep past sunrise and didn't awake until he heard his phone ringing on the bedside table. He picked up groggily, not even bothering to check the number on the caller ID. "Hello?"

"Is this Mr. Bartowski?" asked the voice on the other line.

Chuck was instantly awake and panicked. "Yes. What is it?"

"This is Nurse Baker from Saint Anthony's Hospital. Your wife was just taken to surgery. It seems her internal bleeding worsened during the night, and her doctor decided to see if she could find the cause. She wanted me to let you know."

"Okay, I'll be right there," Chuck blurted out before hanging up the phone. For the second time in as many weeks, Chuck yanked on the first clean clothes he could find and dashed out of his house.

When he reached the hospital, he was directed to the very same waiting room he had occupied the last time Sarah had been operated on. For a few moments Chuck just sat there, wishing he had refused to go home the night before. He felt so badly about leaving Sarah alone to suffer by herself all night. He wondered why she hadn't called him, but knew that she had been concerned about him getting some rest. Even while bleeding internally she was still looking out for him. Chuck shook his head in awe of her need to protect him.

Finally, when Chuck's anxieties became too painful to dwell on, he looked at his watch, surprised to see that it was just past ten in the morning. He decided to call Morgan. He didn't think his friend was working that day, and he was desperate for some company to take his mind off of Sarah's condition and his own pounding headache.

Morgan was able to come sit with Chuck while Sarah was in surgery. He brought comic books and pizza, and although Chuck didn't think he was hungry, he ended up eating over half of the food.

Sarah wasn't in surgery for as long as she had been the previous week, and within a few hours, the doctor approached Chuck with a slight smile on her face.

"We were able to find the source of your wife's bleeding, and I think we managed to stop it. You can go in and see her if you'd like. She's coming out of the anesthesia now."

Chuck thanked the doctor and turned towards his best friend. "I don't know what I'd do without you, buddy. I owe you."

"No way Chuck. You'd do the same for me. Now go see your girl and give me a call if you need anything at all."

Chuck gave Morgan a brief hug and pat on the back, and walked down the hall to where Sarah was recovering. He was glad to see that she was awake this time. She looked tired and confused, but smiled widely when she saw him.

"Chuck. I missed you."

"I missed you too Sarah. I'm sorry I wasn't here. How are you feeling? I mean, I know you're not feeling great, obviously, but-" Sarah cut him off, knowing he would just ramble on if she didn't.

"I'm fine. I feel like I just got hit by a truck," she admitted, "but I'm fine."

Chuck nodded, reaching out to take her hand, but placed his hand on his head instead, wincing in pain as his headache flared up.

"What's the matter Chuck? Does your head hurt?" Sarah asked anxiously.

"A little, but I'm sure it's just from stress."

Sarah nodded but continued to look concerned. Chuck decided to distract her by handing her the copy of Guns and Ammo that Morgan had brought her. She grinned and flipped through for a while, while Chuck rested his head on the bed beside her and drifted off to sleep.

Later that afternoon, Chuck was once again woken by the sound of his phone ringing. He looked around quickly before answering, checking to make sure that Sarah was safe. When he saw her sleeping in the bed in front of him, he grabbed his phone and snuck out of the room, not wanting to disturb her.

"Hello?" he finally answered.

"I found the guy," Casey's voice said bluntly.

"The guy who hurt Sarah?" Chuck clarified. "Where is he?"

"He has a headquarters about a half hour outside of Burbank. My guess is he went there to regroup after we took out most of his employees. I'm gonna go take him into custody. I can have another agent help me but I thought I'd offer you the job first."

Chuck sighed and looked down the hall towards Sarah's hospital room. He didn't want to leave her but she seemed to be doing much better. And he wanted to make sure the man who tried to kill Sarah got what he deserved. He ignored the sharp pain that lingered in his temples and gave Casey his answer.

"Okay Casey, I'm in."

"Good. I'll pick you up in two hours. You still at the hospital?"

"Yeah, I am. I'll see you then."

When Chuck reentered Sarah's room, he was glad to see that she was waking up from her nap. He wanted to explain to her where he was going and what he would be doing before he left.

"How do you feel?" he asked first.

"Not great," she chuckled weakly, "but better than before. Who was that on the phone?"

Chuck should have known he couldn't hide anything from his wife. "It was Casey. He found an address for guy who pushed you off the roof. His name is Jack Magner. I'm going to help him arrest the guy."

Chuck thought Sarah would be happy but she wasn't. Instead she just looked worried.

"I don't think that's safe, Chuck. Why don't you let someone else handle it?"

"What are you talking about?" Chuck asked, trying to hide how hurt he was that Sarah had so little faith in him.

"I mean, I know you can do it," she consoled him, "but you haven't been feeling well lately, and I can tell you're tired. Do you think you're up to taking down such a dangerous target?"

"I'm feeling better now," Chuck lied, "and I have the intersect. Don't worry, Casey and I can do one mission without you."

Sarah nodded, lacing her fingers with Chuck's. "Okay, but promise me you'll be careful."

"I promise. Now to back to sleep, baby, I want you to get better soon so we can go home."

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Thanks for reading! Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

Hi! Thank you to everyone who reviews, I appreciate your comments. And to all those many, many people who read but don't review, thanks for reading! I was a lurker for ten years so I can't complain. But I will say that reviews are great to get and not bad to write!

Enjoy this chapter, and remember that I don't own Chuck. Thanks!

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Soon after Sarah had fallen asleep, Chuck got a text from Casey saying he was waiting in the parking lot.

Chuck exited the hospital, found the government-issued SUV, and hopped into the front seat. Casey handed Chuck a bulletproof vest and began driving.

"So, are you going to tell me the plan?" prompted Chuck, after nearly thirty minutes of silence.

"We scan the property for security, take out whoever needs to be taken out, and arrest Greer. Or shoot him."

Chuck once again couldn't help but marvel at how succinct John Casey was. The plan seemed straightforward and totally doable. He couldn't wait until it was over and he could go back to Sarah.

"Did you remember to pack my tranq guns?"

Casey let out a grunt that Chuck took to mean _Yes, but I still don't know why you bother with those things. Real guns are so much more useful._

When the two spies found the road which led to the house serving as Greer's headquarters, Casey parked in the woods so as not to arouse suspicion. He then tossed Chuck his tranq guns and armed himself as well. Once they were ready to go, they began to walk through the shadowy woods to Greer's headquarters, keeping an eye out for security cameras and guards but seeing none. When they finally got to the house, Chuck grabbed Casey's arm, causing him to stop.

"Is it a bad sign that we haven't run into any security yet?" Chuck whispered, feeling uneasy.

"It might be if we hadn't taken out most of his guards a week ago!" Casey reminded him.

"Oh, right," Chuck breathed.

"I doubt he's alone in the house though, so when we get in there, you focus on catching Greer, and I'll take care of whoever is with him."

Chuck nodded once to show he agreed with the plan, although Casey didn't seem to be looking for his approval.

The two men approached the front door stealthily, and after counting down silently from three, Casey kicked the door in. Both dashed in, guns drawn, and saw immediately that Greer was seated at a work bench with two associates. All three looked up, startled, then reached for their guns. Casey was able to shoot one of the unknown men, but another guard managed to sneak up behind him and wrestle his weapon away.

Chuck shot the other man at the table and was about to tranq Greer when Casey and the guard he was fighting crashed into Chuck, causing him to lose his grip on the non-deadly weapon. He was about to dive after it when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Greer fumbling for his own weapon. In the process, a USB drive fell from Greer's pocket and skidded across the floor. Chuck reached down to scoop it up before facing Greer, who seemed to be having a problem with his gun. At the sight of the weapon, he felt a flash coming on and prepared for it, but all of a sudden the dull, aching pain that had been present in his head for the past week became excruciating, and grainy images flashed before his eyes. There seemed to indeed be something wrong with the intersect.

Chuck dropped to the floor out of pain and confusion, and he heard Casey shouting his name but couldn't answer. A couple of seconds later, Chuck's painful flash faded and he was able to focus on his surroundings once more. The first thing he saw was Casey's opponent lying on the floor next to him, unconscious. When he looked up at Casey, he saw the man aiming his gun at Greer, who was fleeing the premises. He shot a couple of times, but Greer had already escaped.

"Are you okay?" Casey shouted to Chuck, waiting for him to nod before going after Greer. Chuck wanted to help, but he was still too wiped out from the bad flash to get up. A few minutes later Casey returned.

"Lost him," he grunted. "I bet he had a preplanned escape route." Casey swore under his breath, then knelt down next to Chuck.

"Can you get up?"

"I think so," Chuck grimaced. "Something's wrong with the intersect. I flashed like I used to back when I needed the governor."

Casey didn't reply but helped Chuck to his feet. Years ago Chuck would have thought Casey didn't care, but he knew the spy well enough to know that he was trying to hide his concern, and for that Chuck was grateful. He was worried enough for the both of them.

"I'll call Ellie and ask her to meet us at Castle," Chuck said.

"Okay. We have to let the general know what happened anyway," Casey responded.

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"Are you telling me that there is a problem with the intersect...again? I thought your sister fixed it." After hearing what had happened on Team Bartowski's latest mission, General Beckman was highly concerned that the United States' greatest intelligence asset was once again out of commission.

"She did but there must be something else wrong," Chuck defended. "I'll ask her to take another look...as soon as Sarah's home from the hospital."

Chuck thought he saw a pitying look flash across the general's face as she responded, "No. This has to be fixed sooner rather than later. Get it done today." Before she cut off the video Beckman added, "And please tell Agent Walker that I wish her a speedy recovery."

Chuck turned to Casey. "I'm just going to check in on Sarah, then I'll go see Ellie."

"Good. She should know what happened."

"I'm not going to tell her about the intersect," Chuck stated. "I don't want to stress her out."

Casey gave Chuck a skeptical look but held his tongue. He knew his friend would be in trouble for keeping this from Sarah, but he wasn't about to interfere.

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When Chuck walked into Sarah's hospital room, he was glad to see that she was awake and smiling. "I'm so glad you're okay," she said, incredibly relieved. "How did the mission go?"

Chuck hated lying to his wife but he didn't want anxiety over his condition to slow down her recovery so he responded, "We found Greer and took out a couple of his guys, but he got away."

Sarah looked concerned. "Do you know where he went?"

"No, but we found him once, I'm sure we'll find him again."

Sarah nodded in agreement then changed the subject. "The doctor said I can go home today."

"Really? That's awesome!" Chuck beamed.

"I just have to have one more examination and sign the paperwork, then I can leave. We should be able to have a late dinner together."

Chuck grinned happily and kissed her. "Do you mind if I come back and pick you up later? I'm visiting Ellie this afternoon. I think she wants to make sure I'm doing okay."

"Are you doing okay?" From Sarah's tone, Chuck could tell she wasn't completely convinced by the half-truth he had told her.

"Yeah, I am," Chuck replied. The lies just kept piling up.

"Good," said Sarah. "I'll call you when I'm ready to leave."

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Ellie met Chuck at his and Sarah's apartment. She figured it would be easier to have an adult conversation if Clara were elsewhere, and she had a feeling that her brother had something important to say.

She was right. Chuck told her what had happened earlier that day, and how he'd been having headaches for over a week. Ellie was quite concerned to hear this. As a neurologist, she had always been a bit wary of mixing brains with technology...particularly when the brain was her brother's. However, she trusted her father's genius and did her best to iron out the wrinkles on his creation.

Ellie though for a moment, trying to make sense of all the details Chuck had just given her. Suddenly a thought stuck her.

"You said your headaches began when Sarah got hurt?"

"Yeah. I thought it was from the stress but now that I think about it, it must have been intersect related. They felt like the headaches I got before Dad gave me the governor."

"Hmm." Ellie took a moment to gather her thoughts, then asked, "Did they get worse when Sarah went into surgery the second time?"

Chuck tried to remember the events of the past week, then answered as honestly as he could. "Yeah, I think they did. My head definitely hurts more now that it did a week ago. Do you think it's an emotional thing?"

"I think it must be. I mean, the intersect has always been closely entwined with your emotions, hasn't it?" She waited for Chuck to nod then continued. "So it makes sense that when Sarah nearly died, it caused the intersect to malfunction."

"I guess so," Chuck replied, not altogether convinced. He was a computer guy, and computers didn't have emotions. But if one were to give a computer human emotions, he supposed it might malfunction occasionally. Chuck nearly laughed at his strange thoughts, but they made sense. Finally, he asked the most important question.

"Can you fix it sis?"

"I'll try," said Ellie, with less confidence than Chuck had been hoping for. "I think it will be a matter of stabilizing the intersect so that this doesn't happen every time it's dealt an emotional blow. Let me take a couple of brain scans and I'll compare them to the old ones. Then maybe I can make a program that will insulate the intersect from your emotions, at least partially."

"Thanks, Ellie," said Chuck, truly grateful. Just then his phone rang and he glanced at his sister apologetically as he answered it. The call came from an unknown number and he assumed it was from the hospital.

Chuck was correct in his assumption. Sarah was calling to tell him that she was ready to go home. He promised to be there soon and hung up, turning back to his sister. "Sarah's ready to come home."

"Thank goodness. Do you need help with anything?"

"No, but thanks. I'm just going to pick her up and bring her straight home. She's been exhausted lately."

"That's because her body is healing...it's a good sign." Chuck smiled, grateful for her optimism. "I'll head home so you two can have some alone time, but I'll see you tomorrow for the brain scans. Does two work?"

"Sounds good, as long as Sarah's doing okay. See you tomorrow!"

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By seven o'clock that evening, Chuck had driven Sarah home from the hospital and the two were sitting on the couch eating a light supper of chicken soup and crackers. Between Chuck's still-present headache and Sarah's recent injuries, neither felt able to keep down a large meal.

"So, what have I missed this past week?" asked Sarah.

Chuck nearly choked on his soup, trying to figure out what to tell Sarah that would allay her curiosity without being too dishonest. "Well," he finally began, "Morgan decided it would be a good idea to raffle off a huge Thanksgiving turkey in the Buy More. Customers would get a ticket for each fifty dollars they spent."

"That actually sounds like a good way to drum up business," Sarah commended.

"It would have been," agreed Chuck, "but he insisted on actually keeping the live turkey behind a fence at the front of the store." Sarah's eyes widened in amusement. "Between the horrible smell and the ear-splitting gobbles, we managed to lose a good amount of business that day."

Sarah let out a laugh that was music to Chuck's ears and he once again sent up a prayer of thanks that his wife was alive and home.

The two sat and chatted while they ate, and when they'd finished, Chuck insisted on doing the dishes by himself. He knew Sarah was tired when, instead of protesting, she yawned and said she'd meet him in bed.

Just after Chuck had finished loading up the dishwasher, he heard his phone ringing. Seeing the picture of a scowling John Casey pop up on the screen, he immediately answered it.

"Chuck, I think I've got another location for Ken Greer."

"That's great! What can I do to help?"

"You can get that computer in your head fixed and keep your wife out of danger for the next couple of weeks."

Chuck rolled his eyes. "Fine. But where do you think this guy is?"

As Casey responded, Chuck absentmindedly reached into his pants pocket to check for spare change for the jar on the windowsill. Apart from a few pennies and dimes, he felt something unexpected, a USB drive. Suddenly he remembered where he had gotten it.

"Casey!" he interrupted, not waiting for a reply, "When we were at Greer's headquarters this morning, he dropped a USB drive. I guess I forgot about it after the bad flash, but I put it in my pocket. I'm going to put it in my laptop right now and see what's on it."

"Wait!" Casey ordered. "Don't! Who knows what could be on that. Just keep it with you and meet me at Castle tomorrow morning at ten. We can take a look at it then."

"Okay," agreed Chuck reluctantly. He was anxious to see what was on the drive but supposed it would be safer to wait. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Casey grunted and ended the call. Chuck walked into his bedroom and saw that Sarah was already asleep. He slipped the USB into his desk drawer and got undressed, slipping into a pair of pajama pants. He tucked the blankets in around Sarah and went to brush his teeth, figuring that if Sarah was asleep then he might as well be too. It would also be good to get a break from his splitting headache, without having to delve into the powerful painkillers with which Sarah had been sent home.

Chuck got into bed next to his wife, keeping a careful distance so as not to jar any of her injuries. Just before he drifted off to sleep, he couldn't help but smile at the fact that his wife was home once again. He felt like the luckiest man in the world

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Thanks as always for reading! Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks as always to everyone who read and especially those who reviewed. You are so kind! I hope you are enjoying the story so far.

Once again, I do not own Chuck.

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Chuck walked into his bedroom and saw that Sarah was already asleep. He slipped the flash drive into his desk drawer and got undressed, slipping into a pair of pajama pants. He tucked the blankets in around Sarah and went to brush his teeth, figuring that if Sarah was asleep then he might as well be too. It would also be good to get a break from his splitting headache, without having to delve into the powerful painkillers with which Sarah had been sent home.

Chuck got into bed next to his wife, keeping a careful distance so as not to jar any of her injuries. Just before he drifted off to sleep, he couldn't help but smile at the fact that his wife was home once again. He felt like the luckiest man in the world.

Chuck didn't get to rest for long that night. His splitting headache woke him just before three in the morning, and although he was still tired, he couldn't get back to sleep. Just when he was about to grab his phone and pay some bills online, he heard the sound of a window opening in the living room. It was barely perceptible, and if he had been asleep he was sure he wouldn't have heard it. Chuck felt a jolt of fear before he reminded himself that he was a spy and he was in bed with an even better spy. Of course, neither were in any condition to do any fighting, so Chuck sent Casey an emergency text asking for backup.

Chuck gently shook Sarah awake, whispering to her that they had company, and walked across the room to where the guns were hidden. Sarah looked worried, but Chuck motioned for her to stay in bed. It was a testament to how weak her body still was that she complied.

Just as Chuck was about to grab his gun however, he heard a voice in the doorway.

"Where is it?"

Closing his hand around his tranq gun, Chuck turned slowly. He could just make out the shadow of a large man in the doorway, a man who was holding a real gun, pointed right at him. Chuck tensed up, but was thankful that the man hadn't seemed to notice Sarah yet.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Chuck stuttered, deciding to play dumb.

"The USB drive," clarified the man, whom Chuck now realized was Ken Greer.

"I don't have it," he lied. "I think I dropped it at your headquarters yesterday. Maybe you should check there."

"Don't lie to me," Greer growled, raising his gun so it was pointed at Chuck's head.

Chuck tried to prevent himself from flashing, he really did. He knew that if the intersect malfunctioned again then he and Sarah would be in grave danger. He almost succeeded too, until he saw Sarah moving across the bed out of the corner of his eye. She seemed to be preparing to help her husband take out the man in their bedroom, unaware that Chuck was having problems with the intersect.

Just as Chuck was about to pull out his own gun and hope he could distract Greer long enough for Sarah to escape, he felt himself begin to flash. All of a sudden, he was in an incredible amount of pain. He thought he heard a gunshot, but didn't feel a bullet. All he could do was hope that it hadn't been aimed at Sarah as he crumpled to the floor, holding his head in misery.

He heard his wife screaming his name and for a moment he wished for death, just to make the terror end. Soon he heard more gunfire, and what sounded like Casey's voice. Help seemed to have come, and Chuck said a prayer that his wife was okay before he lowered his head to the floor and passed out from the pain.

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Sarah was furious. How dare they keep this from her? Chuck was sick, the intersect was making him sick, and no one had told her. They had all known...Ellie, Devon, Casey, Beckman, even Morgan had been aware of the problem, but no one had thoght to mention it to her.

Deep down, she knew that her husband was the one who was truly to blame. He had chosen to keep the secret from her, under the guise of protecting her. She thought he had learned his lesson last time the intersect had been acting up. But apparently he hadn't. And they were married now, so his omission was that much worse.

Unfortunately, Sarah couldn't be too angry with her husband at the moment, because he was lying in a hospital bed, still unconscious. He had been taken there by ambulance after the attack, and hadn't woken since. Ellie told her it was probably a result of his brain trying to protect itself from further injury, but it terrified Sarah. Why couldn't they go a week without one of them being admitted to a hospital?

Ellie had been working restlessly to figure out how to fix the intersect. She had finally come up with a potential solution after nearly forty-eight hours of work and twenty cups of coffee. The program she had created would essentially reboot the intersect and rewire it so that it would be less susceptible to emotional interference. Sarah wasn't a neurologist, so she wasn't clear on the details of how it would work, but she trusted her sister-in-law's expertise implicitly.

The only problem was that, in order for Chuck to see the intersect update program, he would have to be awake. And he had been asleep for nearly two days.

Chuck's friends and family had done everything in their power to wake him. Sarah had tried kissing him awake, Casey had tried hitting him awake, and Morgan had waved some tantalizing sizzling shrimp underneath his nose. Even chemical means hadn't worked. Nothing had so much as caused him to stir. So instead they took turns sitting with Chuck and talking to him, hoping that they could keep him tethered to the outside world.

Sarah stayed by Chuck's side the entire time, much as he had done for her. The brief fight she'd had with Greer had reopened a few of her wounds, and she wasn't up to moving around much anyway, so she simply sat with Chuck, begging, ordering, and bribing him to wake up.

Finally, after nearly three anxiety filled days, Chuck awoke.

"Sar-ah," he managed to choke out, his throat feeling parched.

"Chuck!" Sarah placed a quick kiss on his forehead then stuck her head out of his hospital room, yelling for Ellie and Devon, who were in the hallway. When she had motioned for them to come, she returned to her husband's side.

"You have to stay awake sweetie! Ellie made an upload for the intersect that'll make you better. Stay awake!" Chuck's head rolled a bit to the side, but he kept his eyes open.

"I have the program here," said Ellie, pulling out an iPad. "Hold his eyes open," she ordered Sarah, hoping that Chuck would stay awake for at least a few more minutes.  
Sarah reached her arms around Chuck's head, placing her fingers tightly on his eyelids so they would not close. She felt badly about it, but knew it was necessary to make Chuck well again. Ellie held the tablet in front of Chuck's face and pushed the button for the program to start.

Sarah quickly squeezed her eyes shut, so she would not see the intersect update meant for Chuck, but nearly opened them out of concern when she felt his body shaking.

Finally, Ellie told Sarah it was safe for her to open her eyes, and Sarah removed her hands from Chuck's face and moved so she could see him. He was awake, but seemed pretty disoriented.

"Did it work?" she asked her sister-in-law.

"It should have; it looked like he saw the whole thing. But we won't know for sure until he flashes." Sarah nodded, glancing again Chuck, who seemed as if he were about to drift back to sleep.

"Should we try to get him to flash now?" Sarah asked, impatient to know whether Chuck was okay.

"Let's let him sleep a bit before we test it," suggested Devon, looking at Ellie for confirmation.

"That makes sense," Ellie agreed before turning to Sarah and asking, "Do you want me to take over for you for a while?"

Sarah smiled gratefully but said, "No thanks. I think I'll stay here in case he wakes up soon.

Ellie and Devon nodded and exited the room, telling Sarah to call them at anytime at all and they would stop by.

"And definitely call me when Chuck wakes up," said Ellie. "I want to examine his mental functions."

Sarah promised to be in touch and said goodbye. Then she sat down next to Chuck and held his hand, willing him to be okay.

After a five hour nap, Chuck's eyes began to blink open. Sarah looked up from the magazine she had been flipping through to see chocolate brown eyes staring into her own. She got to her feet immediately and leaned in close to Chuck saying, "I'm so glad you're awake! Do you feel okay?"

Chuck nodded his head almost imperceptibly, but managed to croak out, "Head hurts."

"That makes sense," Sarah replied, nodding. She wasn't sure how much Chuck could remember, so she filled him in a bit. "There was something wrong with the intersect but Ellie gave you an update that hopefully fixed it. Your headache is probably from that." Sarah hoped her theory was true.

Remembering suddenly that she had promised to tell Chuck's sister when he awoke, she took her phone out and made the call.

"Ellie will be here in fifteen minutes," she informed Chuck, after they finished talking. "She wants to make sure the intersect is fixed." Chuck nodded, still feeling sleepy, and reached out to take his wife's hand.

"I can't wait to get out of here. It's been so long since we were home together. How's your leg?" he asked, remembering that it was in a cast. "And your ribs?"

"Painful," Sarah admitted honestly, "but healing. When Greer attacked us some of my stitches ripped but I got them replaced."

Chuck stared at Sarah for a moment, and she could practically see the wheels in his head turning. A look of realization crossed his pale features, which soon morphed into shame.

"I'm so sorry, Sarah," he blurted out. "That was all my fault. I knew the intersect wasn't working; I should have known I couldn't protect you."

"Shhh..." Sarah quieted him. "You couldn't have known we'd be attacked." She frowned then said, "But you should have told me that there was something wrong. I hate it when you keep things from me!"

"I know," Chuck said shamefully. "I just didn't want to stress you out while you were recovering from the fall. I should have told you though. I will next time, I promise."

"You had better!" said Sarah, now only a little mad. "Although I hope there isn't a next time. I want you healthy."

Just then, Ellie came walking into the room, a wide grin on her face at Chuck's improved state. She gave him a gentle squeeze then asked how he was feeling. Chuck mentioned his still-present headache to her, and she too believed it was probably a side effect of the intersect update.

Sarah stood a few feet away as Chuck was examined by Ellie. She was pleased to see that her sister-in-law seemed impressed by Chuck's physical and mental state. At the end of the exam, Ellie turned to Sarah and said, "I think it's time to test Chuck's flashes."

"Are you sure? I don't want him to get hurt from flashing before he's ready."

"Me neither," Ellie replied, "but he's doing great in almost every way. Now is as good a time as any to test the intersect. And if it works, I think he can go home tonight."

Sarah was thrilled by that news and crossed her fingers for luck. She watched anxiously as Ellie pulled a card out of her pocket that would act as an intersect trigger.

"Ready?" Ellie asked her brother, who took a deep breath.

"I think so."

As soon as Chuck laid eyes on the card he made the flash face that Sarah knew so well. He came out of it within seconds, then looked back and forth between his wife and sister, grinning from ear to ear. "It worked!" he exclaimed.

Both of the women in the room were thrilled that Chuck was better. They placed hands over their hearts and returned his smile enthusiastically, tears making their eyes glossy.

Ellie was the first to compose herself long enough to speak. "If you think you're up to going home today, I can get started on the paperwork now."

Chuck nodded, eager to get out of the sterile and depressing environment as soon as possible.

"Great, then I'll be back with forms for you to sign in about a half an hour." Ellie gave her brother a peck on the cheek, beamed again at Sarah, and left the room.

Less than two seconds after that, Sarah's cell phone began ringing. "It's Casey," she told Chuck, as she lifted it up to her ear.

From the one side of the conversation Chuck could hear, it seemed as though Casey was calling to see how he was doing. Sarah happily informed their teammate that the intersect was working properly again, and that they would be home in a couple of hours.

Sarah's face turned suddenly thoughtful as she considered something Casey had said. "I didn't know about that, but it explains why we were attacked." Another brief pause and then, "I'll ask him."

Sarah lowered the phone from her ear and looked at Chuck, a bit annoyed. "Casey says you have a USB drive that Greer was after. He wants to know where you put it."

"It's in the back of the middle drawer of my desk," he informed her. She relayed the information to Casey and made him promise to keep them updated. After hanging up, she turned back to Chuck, eyebrows furrowed.

"Why didn't you tell me about the USB?" she asked, not yelling but not completely calm either.

"I forgot I had it!" Chuck defended. "I told Casey about it, but you were already asleep. I figured I could tell you later, but when Greer showed up it was too late!"

Sarah sighed and shook her head slightly. "Fine. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't you trying to keep me out of the loop again."

"Sarah," Chuck waited until his wife's eyes met his own before continuing. "You are the most capable spy I know. I do want to keep you safe, but I know that your job isn't safe, and I respect that." He squeezed her hand and went on. "The only reason I didn't tell you about the intersect problems was because you were so sick, and it really scared me. When you were in the coma...I thought I was going to lose you. I just needed you to heal as fast as possible, not regress because you were worrying about me." Chuck gave Sarah his best puppy dog eyes, and she couldn't help but smile.

"I understand," she conceded. "I was scared when you were sick too. But can we please just try to be more honest with each other? My parents..." Chuck's eyes widened; Sarah almost never talked about her family or childhood. "...they weren't honest with each other. My dad was always doing cons behind my mom's back, and she was too wrapped up in her work to even have a conversation with him. I don't want us to be like that."

If it was possible, Chuck's love for his wife increased in that moment. Knowing that she was trying to learn from her parents' mistakes, much like he was determined to learn from his own, made him feel like they were both prepared to make their relationship last. As guilty as it made him feel, Chuck had to admit that he sometimes worried that Sarah would eventually leave him. He feared that the habits of her past and her training as a spy would cause her to become restless in their relationship. It meant the world to him that she didn't want her former life. He didn't want Sarah to know that he had ever doubted her though, so he simply said, "I love you."

"I love you too," Sarah replied, and the two spies sat in contented silence until Ellie returned and Chuck was discharged from the hospital.

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Thanks for reading. Please review!


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks as always to all those who read and reviewed. I hope you like this chapter.

And of course, I don't own Chuck.

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The next two weeks were practically like a second honeymoon for Chuck and Sarah. Except for the fact that Sarah's bones were still healing and Chuck was suffering occasional headaches, the two felt closer than they had since their wedding day. Both members of Team Bartowski had been given time off of work to recuperate, and they had nothing to do but relax and enjoy each other's company.

Sarah had a bit of trouble getting around, so although she was itching to exercise, she had to settle for catching up on books and movies, many of which were suggested by Chuck. She was also able to enjoy watching her husband bustle around the house, doing a thorough cleaning that neither had been able to accomplish for months. When he was done with that, he spent most of his time in the kitchen, trying to perfect various dishes that he and Sarah enjoyed.

Sarah appreciated his newfound culinary skills, but she worried that the combination of too much food and not enough exercise would be a problem when she was ready to return to the field. Luckily for her, Chuck was ready to go back to work at the end of the two weeks, and no longer had any time for cooking.

Sarah had to admit that it wasn't easy to sit back and do nothing while the rest of her team was completing various missions. She still had three more weeks before she could get her cast off, and pretty soon she was so sick of reading and watching tv that she almost wished someone would attack the apartment, just so she would have something to do.

Thankfully, Chuck seemed to notice that she was having a hard time being benched. He brought her news of what was going on at Castle, and told her the details of their missions. But this almost made Sarah feel worse because she knew what she was missing.

Finally, during the fourth week of her recovery, Sarah was able to go to Castle and help her team. The CIA had been able to decode the information that was contained on the USB, and it turned out to hold the names of four nefarious men and women, with whom Greer had been planning on going into business. One was a notorious hacker, one was a human trafficker, and the other two were wealthy, white collar criminals.

Sarah was given the job of investigating these people's pasts and locating them. Although she was stuck behind a computer most of the time, Sarah was grateful to be doing something useful. And being able to work alongside Chuck and Casey made her feel like life was getting back to normal.

After about a week of research, Sarah found the location of one of the women she had been looking for. She was the CEO of an oil company who had embezzled millions of dollars under the guise of donating to various fake charities. When she announced her success to Chuck, Casey, and Beckman, the general ordered that they waste no time in taking her in.

"I realize that you're short a team member currently, but I doubt this CEO will be difficult to capture."

Chuck and Casey agreed whole heartedly, and Sarah couldn't disagree. Although she never liked to have Chuck in the field without her, she wasn't too worried about the upcoming mission.

After spending the rest of that day and most of the next gathering as much information about the CEO, Cynthia Roman, as possible, Sarah helped her teammates pack for their mission.

"There are some extra tranquilizing darts in his bag," Sarah said to Chuck, before taking a pen from his front pocket and holding it in front of his face. "And remember, you have to push this button to release the sleeping drug into her tea."

Chuck rolled his eyes but smiled. "I know sweetie, we've been over this five times already."

Sarah bit her lip and admitted, "I know, but I'm just nervous that I won't be out there with you. You can take care of yourself," she hurried to assure him, "...but I'm still going to worry."

"I know, and I love you for that." Chuck planted a kiss on Sarah lips, ignoring the pained groan that Casey let out at their affection.

"Are you coming or not, Bartowski?"

"Be right there," Chuck called out as Casey climbed the stairs.

"I'll be careful," he assured Sarah one last time, before following Casey to the SUV.  
Sarah stood alone in Castle for a moment, saying a silent prayer that Chuck would be alright. She wished that she could at least be in the van while the men were on their mission, but since her leg was still in a cast and her ribs were still sore, she wouldn't be of much use.

It was late in the afternoon, but Sarah decided to keep working on locating Greer's other associates. It only took a few hours for her to find the other white collar criminal, Rob Sloane. It seemed that he was the co-chair of some of Cynthia Roman's fake charities, so he was fairly easy to find. Once she had discovered his phone number and address, she was able to send them to some CIA techies who would be able to hack into his smartphone and get plenty of personal information. Sarah waited impatiently to hear back from the techies, unable to prevent herself from worrying about Chuck. She texted him twice, but the second time he replied that they had just entered the building, and Sarah didn't want to distract him.

Finally, Sarah received the call from the CIA which she had been awaiting. The woman on the other end of the line informed her that there was no incriminating evidence on Sloane's cell, but they were able to copy his calendar.

"Could you email that to me?" Sarah requested, then thanked the woman and hung up. The email popped up almost immediately, and Sarah opened it, planning to scan the contents for anything useful. However, she hadn't even gotten past the first scheduled event when panic began clutching at her chest. The item on Sloane's calendar was for that very day and read: Meeting w/ Cynthia Roman- 7pm.

Sarah glanced quickly at the clock and saw that it was already 7:15pm. Chuck and Casey had no idea that they would be up against two criminals this evening. Sarah pulled out her phone again and frantically dialed Chuck's number. He didn't answer, so she tried Casey instead. Her other partner didn't pick up either.

What if something bad had happened already? What if Sloane walked in and saw Chuck and Casey taking Roman into custody and shot them on the spot?

Sarah took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. She reminded herself that panicking wouldn't help anyone. Once she had cooled off a bit, Sarah called Beckman to let her know that things had gotten a bit more complicated, and the general promised to send a couple of agents in for backup. Unable to do anything but wait, Sarah sat and tried to look up the remaining criminals, although she wasn't thinking clearly enough to get much done.

Finally, after what felt like five hours but was actually only one, Sarah's phone began ringing. She saw that it was Chuck and picked up right away, hoping nothing bad had happened.

"Hey babe, sorry I missed your call, we were in Roman's office. And you'll never believe who else showed up. Rob Sloane! One of the other guys we were looking for. We killed two birds with one stone! Well, I guess I should say we tranquilized two birds with one...dart."

Sarah didn't say anything; her mouth simply opened and closed soundlessly. As soon as she had somewhat recovered from her shock and relief, she managed to blurt out, "That's great! I'm so glad you're okay. I found out about Sloane a little while ago but when you didn't answer I thought...I thought you were..." she trailed off, embarrassed that she hadn't had more faith in her husband.

"Nope, everything went great," Chuck assured her, still cheery. "Meet you at home?"  
Sarah answered in the affirmative, then hung up and began to walk out of Castle. She was still a bit surprised that everything had gone so smoothly, but she was thrilled Chuck was okay. She couldn't wait to wrap her arms around him and hold him close all night long, telling him and showing him how proud she was.

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Team Bartowski spent the next few weeks trying to gather more information on Greer's last two associates. These were harder, because they were criminals who tried hard to stay out of the public eye. Chuck suggested that he be in charge of finding the hacker, since he was so familiar with that world.

Sarah would never admit it, but sometimes when Chuck was hacking, she felt jealous of his computer. He interacted with computers with a similar reverence and joy to that which he directed at her. But despite her silly insecurities, Sarah was always impressed by her husband's abilities, even if they were quintessentially nerdy.

After about three days of hacking, Chuck had made an impressive amount of progress. He had found a location from which the hacker, Justin Fletcher, was potentially operating. The only problem was that it seemed as though he had been there for a while, and he was prone to moving around often. So, the team decided to waste no time in catching their suspect.

Once again, the mission was fairly straightforward. The general didn't expect Fletcher to have any bodyguards, since he conducted all of his crimes anonymously online. Sarah agreed with this assumption, and was about to say so when Chuck interrupted.

"General, I think this is another two-man mission." Sarah knew immediately which "two men" Chuck was suggesting and instantly felt offended. She had gotten her cast off nearly a week before and had been given a clean bill of health, but Chuck was still treating her as if she were an invalid. He was doing all of the cooking and household chores by himself, and simply refused to let Sarah help. She hadn't minded at first, when she had been weak and tired, but she was better now and ready to go back to normal. However, with all the work they had been doing in Castle lately, she hadn't had the time to have an honest conversation with him.

"I'm actually feeling much better General," Sarah informed her, sending a killer glare at her husband, who had the decency to look ashamed.

"I'm glad to hear that," Beckman replied, "but Agent Bartowski is right, it should take no more than two people." She saw Sarah's disappointment at being sidelined and said comfortingly, "You were badly injured, Agent Walker. I think we'll all feel better if you take just a bit more time to recover." The video conference ended, and Sarah marched out of the room, pointedly ignoring Chuck's apologies.

Chuck continued to try to make it up to Sarah throughout the day, but failed miserably. His compliments and flattery were met with frowns and a cold shoulder. Finally, when it was time for him and Casey to leave, he approached Sarah one last time.

"I'm really sorry for what I said. I didn't mean to imply that you couldn't go on the mission, I just though if it wasn't necessary..."

"So when _will_ it be necessary Chuck?" she snapped. "I get it, okay? You don't need me on this mission. So when are you going to need me?" She shut her mouth quickly, having surprised herself a bit with her words, though once she had said them she knew they were true.

"Sarah, honey, of course we need you. I'd be dead without you! Is that what's been bothering you?"

"No!" she insisted. "Well, yes, I guess. I've just felt so useless these past few weeks. Now that I'm better, it feels like you don't need me anymore."

Chuck sighed and took Sarah into his arms. "Baby, that's not true," he insisted. "You are so important to the team, to me. It hasn't been easy without you but we were doing it because we wanted you to get better as fast as possible."

"Really?" Sarah asked.

Chuck laughed, relieved that she seemed placated. "Yes! Do you know how many times I wished you were on missions with me over the past few weeks? And not just because Casey is a horrible dance partner!" he joked.

Sarah giggled, glad to have gotten her insecurities off of her chest.

"How about we make a deal?" suggested Chuck. "You stay in the van for this mission..." he hurried to finish when he heard her begin to protest, "...and the next mission is all yours."

Sarah nodded in agreement. "It's a deal. As long as you are extra careful on this mission."

"You got it. Now let's go."

The mission to capture the hacker went on without a hitch. Sarah sat bored in the van, while Chuck and Casey sneaked into the seedy motel room that was occupied by Fletcher. The pale, overweight young man was taken by surprise by Chuck and Casey, and barely put up a fight when he saw two guns pointed at him. "I'm not doing anything wrong!" he insisted as Casey cuffed him.

"Uh-huh," Casey grunted, leading him into the squad car that had just arrived. He knew there was enough information on the USB drive to put him away for a long time.

"Everything go alright?" Sarah asked the men as they entered the van.

"Yep," said Chuck, "no problem at all. All we have to do is catch the last guy, and we can put this mission behind us."

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It turned out that the last guy was going to be the hardest to find. Considering he was a human trafficker, it was no surprise that he didn't want to be found. After all, he would likely be facing the death penalty for his crimes. Chuck, Sarah, and Casey worked hard figure out where the trafficker could be found. They got a couple of leads, but none of them yielded any results.

After two weeks of fruitless searching, tension was high in Castle. Each member of Team Bartowski knew that they needed to catch Seth Brand as soon as possible. The longer he was free, the more girls would be put in danger. Usually the criminals they dealt with were thieves or traitors; although they were cold-hearted killers, they weren't keeping hundreds of innocent children locked up to be sold into slavery. Team Bartowski, along with a small group of government specialists, was responsible for saving these girls before too much damage could be done, and the burden of such responsibility was heavy.

Casey dealt with his stress by saying even less than usual. He mostly kept to himself unless he found anything pertinent. Sarah reacted similarly, regressing to her former emotionless spy persona. She rarely smiled, and glared at anyone who interrupted her nearly obsessive search.

Unfortunately for Chuck, he handled the pressure in a completely different way. He worked hard too, as determined as anyone to catch the trafficker. However, he also needed a bit of tenderness and reassurance to balance out the darkness of their search. Normally when he was feeling down, he would simply glance up at Sarah and her smile would recharge him. Or, when she noticed things were particularly bad, she would give him a hug, tousle his hair, or talk with him briefly about how he felt. Chuck knew that they didn't have time currently for physical affection or chatting, but he could have used a smile to alleviate the weighty stress. Instead, on the rare occasions that they made eye contact, Sarah was all frowns and sighs.

After weeks of this discouraging pattern, Chuck finally reached his breaking point. He and Sarah had gone home in the wee hours of the morning to get a few hours of sleep before reporting back to Castle to follow another, likely useless, lead. As they got into bed, Chuck turned to pull Sarah into his arms for a cuddle, as he often did. This time however, she grunted and pulled away mumbling, "Not tonight."

Chuck felt a tidal wave of panic flood his entire body. Sarah had never rejected a cuddle from him, and it made insecurity run through his veins. Was she angry at him? Or worse, was she indifferent?

Chuck tried to respect the fact that his wife was likely just inordinately tired, and needed her own space, but he found himself unable to sleep, his exhausted mind inundated with doubts fueled by her rejection. Finally, he had had enough. He was too tired to ruminate on their relationship issues, so he turned to face her once more. The conversation might be awkward, but they had agreed to be honest with each other.

"Sarah, please don't take this the wrong way..." he winced when he heard the cliche come out of his mouth, "...but I feel like you've been kinda distant these past few weeks."

Sarah sat up in bed and glared at him. "We've been chasing down a human trafficker...did you expect that to be a vacation?"

"No! Of course not," he answered, already regretting bringing the topic up. "It's just...I've missed you."

Sarah looked confused. "Missed me? When we haven't been working together we've been sleeping together. Unless-" she looked at him incredulously "-is that the problem? I'm not keeping you satisfied?"

Her eyes widened and Chuck hurried to clarify. "No! That's not it at all! I'm very satisfied. Wait- I didn't mean- I mean I'm not currently satisfied because we haven't...you know- but in general that's not a problem. Not that it would be even if you didn't want to do it! I love you either way! I mean I prefer-"

"Chuck!" Sarah finally put an end to his embarrassing rambling. "I know what you mean. I'm sorry I haven't been very attentive lately, it's just I've been so busy and tired that I've needed my own space. I didn't mean to make you think there was a problem."

"I get it," Chuck soothed. I'm sorry for mentioning it; I didn't mean to upset you. I'll let you get some sleep."

Chuck lat back down, a bit disappointed but at least relieved to know that she hadn't been purposefully pushing him away.

He heard Sarah shift behind him, and much to his surprise, she cuddled into him and wrapped her arm firmly around his waist. That night, Chuck slept better than he had in a long time.

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Please review if you get the chance!


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you to all my readers and reviewers! I hope you like this chapter!

As always, I don't own Chuck.

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After a few more days of research and field work, Team Bartowski found a solid lead as to where they could find the human trafficker, Damen Rove. They had managed to track down some of his clients and gotten them to turn on him by offering a shortened sentence. Everyone in Castle hated breathing the same air as those scumbags, but they were pleased with their results.

That very same day, Chuck, Sarah, and Casey gathered around the conference table in order to update General Beckman. The redhead was glad to hear that they had made some progress and commended them for their hard work. However, when Casey requested permission to go after the piece of filth, Beckman shook her head.

"Not just yet. Someone is coming from Washington to work with you on this mission. His name is Lars Sterling, and he specializes in sex crimes. He should be there in an hour."

"General, with all due respect," began Casey, not sounding particularly respectful, "I'm positive we can complete this mission on our own." Chuck and Sarah nodded in agreement.

"I'm sure you can," Beckman said, "...but due to the nature of Damen Rove's crimes, we need someone who has experience with such heinous acts. The victims will need to be considered in this mission, and Agent Sterling will help make sure they suffer no more than they already have." The team agreed. Even though they never liked having to trust outsiders, they knew it would be best for the kidnapped girls if they had a professional on their side.

When Beckman disconnected the call, Chuck, Casey, and Sarah put their heads together and began coming up with a plan. They decided it would be best to quietly take out the guards surrounding the storage facility in which Rove kept his victims. Then they could go in to take Rove into custody, and free the girls once the location was secured.

Just when they were putting the finishing touches on their plan of action, a tall man with smooth, dark colored hair entered the room. Sarah immediately leaped to her feet and pointed her gun at the man, demanding to know what he was doing there.

"Walker," grumbled Casey, who was luckily calmer than his partner in that moment, "That's Agent Sterling."

In order to prove that what Casey said was true, the stranger slowly reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out his credentials, letting them hang open so that Sarah could see them clearly.

"Oh, okay," she said when she was satisfied that the newcomer meant no harm. She put her gun away and took a step back towards Chuck.

"We're glad that you could come work with us," Chuck said graciously. "My name is Chuck Bartowski and this-"

"I know who you are," Agent Sterling cut in sharply. "I read all of your files on the way here, and I've been updated on the mission." He sat down at the conference table and pulled out his laptop. Taking his lead, Team Bartowski sat as well. "Your plan isn't great, but it should work. The only thing that I must stress is that you make sure the area is completely clear of perpetrators before you remove the girls from their units. Understood?"

Everyone nodded, a bit put off by the agent's bluntness, but willing to take what he said into account.

"Good. Now let's get packed up. I want those girls safe by sunrise."

All four began grabbing bags, weapons, and ammunition. As Chuck helped Sarah get strapped into her bulletproof vest, checking and double checking that it was secure, he whispered, "Honey...I know you're feeling better, but I just want to make sure you're up for this mission."

He winced, afraid that she would take his worry as doubt in her abilities, but she only smiled confidently and said, "Yes." She then stared into his brown eyes with a bit of her own concern and said, "And how do you feel? Are your headaches gone?"

Chuck grinned and answered, "I'm feeling better than ever." The couple moved to join the rest of the team, and headed towards the parking lot where two black SUVs were waiting.

"Agent Bartowski, you're riding with me," Agent Sterling said in a commanding tone.  
Sarah's ears perked up and her expression immediately turned stony. She caught up with Chuck as he began to follow the other agent, and pulled on his arm. "I'm going with you."

"Do you think Sterling has some ulterior motive?" Chuck questioned in a hushed tone.

"I don't know. But I certainly don't trust him."

Sarah motioned to Casey that she was going to ride in the other SUV, then hopped into the back seat as Chuck settled in the front. Agent Sterling saw her enter from his place in the driver's seat and frowned. "I thought you'd be riding with Agent Casey," he said.

"No, there wasn't any room," Sarah lied, pleased that she seemed to have thrown the other Agent off. Agent Sterling didn't protest; he just entered their destination into the GPS and began driving.

Once they had reached the highway, Agent Sterling began talking to Chuck. Sarah listened intently from the back, trying to figure out if his questions were harmless or suspicious.

"I've read through your entire file," the agent began, "but I can't figure out how a college drop out who works at the Buy More ends up being a government asset and eventually a spy. I thought there might be something special about you, but now that I've met you I can see there isn't. Care to enlighten me?"

It was all Sarah could do to not knock the agent out cold. In fact, she was glad he was driving because it served as extra incentive to not do him any bodily harm. Chuck answered calmly however, and Sarah had to give him an enormous amount of credit.

"I don't know, I'm just lucky I guess."

Both Chuck and Sarah knew that Agent Sterling had not read Chuck's complete file. If he had then he would know about the intersect. Luckily that was top-secret information that was rarely shared with anyone. The Bartowskis hoped that was the end of the conversation, but the nosy agent refused to give up.

"No, suddenly working with two of the best members of the CIA and NSA has nothing to do with luck. Either they were protecting you for some reason or you had something they needed."

Neither Chuck nor Sarah spoke, not wanting to give anything away. They didn't even look at each other, and the car was blessedly silent until Agent Sterling said determinedly, "There's something more going on here, and I _will_ find out what it is."

Sarah was about to lose her cool and tell the agent that it was none of his business, when the SUV stopped and she saw they had arrived at the storage facility. The agents unloaded their supplies from the vehicle and joined Casey, who had parked a few yards away. He was talking on his cell phone, and by the look on his face, he had received some unwelcome news.

"Yes ma'am, I'll fill them in. I'll let you know what we decide." He faced the rest of his team, a grave look on his face.

"The general just informed me that they moved the girls."

"What? Does she know where?" Chuck asked.

"No," said Casey, clearly discouraged. "Apparently Brand and his men haven't switched headquarters yet, but the infrared cameras didn't pick up any large groups of people."

"Dammit!" Sterling exclaimed. No one else bothered to say anything. They all knew what a hopeless situation this now was. The likelihood of the traffickers giving up the location of the girls was slim to none, since no amount of cooperation would take life in prison off the table. Chuck hung his head, trying to mask his despair that they would not be able to save Brand's victims any time soon.

"I guess we'll just have to keep an eye on Brand and his men and wait for them to make another move."

Sarah shook her head, visibly upset. "Once Brand finds out that the people he was about to go into business with have all been arrested, he's going to be extra careful. We'll never find them."

Even the always optimistic Chuck couldn't find anything positive to say. Finally, after a few minutes of heavy silence, Agent Sterling made a suggestion.

"I have a way for us to find the girls."

"That's great!" said Chuck, "How?"

"The same way you find out where a rich man keeps his safe. Give him something he'll want to put in there and track it."

Casey and Sarah seemed to understand Sterling's plan immediately, although neither looked particularly happy with it. Chuck however needed further explanation.

"But this isn't a safe we're talking about. What could we possibly give Brand that he would store in the same place as the kidnapped girls?"

Chuck looked towards his wife for clarification, but upon seeing her determined avoidance of his gaze, he suddenly understood. "No!"

"Bartowski! Keep your voice down!" warned Casey.

"No! You can't expect Sarah to-"

Agent Sterling interrupted. "_Agent Walker _works for the CIA. She will do what is ordered."

"You can't order someone to do something so dangerous! You can't use her as bait! I _won't_ let you!" Chuck was having trouble thinking clearly, his mind foggy with fear.

"Chuck! Chuck, it's our only option," Sarah explained. "Those girls need me. They need _us_ to save them."

Chuck's eyes were getting watery now, and Sarah pulled him over behind the SUV that was farthest away; so they could have some privacy. "Sweetie, I know this will be hard for you-"

"For _me_?" Chuck interrupted incredulously. "_You're_ the one who's thinking of handing yourself over to _human traffickers_! Do you have any idea what could happen? If they hurt you, killed you...I don't know what I'd do."

"Chuck," Sarah pleaded, placing her hand on his shoulders. "I have to do this. Those girls are scared, and _they_ will be hurt or killed if I don't do this. I want to stay with you, but I'm a spy, and this is what we do. I need you to support me on this. Please."

"Sarah," Chuck whispered, cupping her soft cheek in his large palm, "Of course I support you. I will always support you. I just don't know how you expect me to be able to watch you walk into such a dangerous situation."

"I expect you to trust me, Chuck. Trust in my abilities and trust that I will do everything I can to come back to you."

Chuck simply nodded, not trusting himself to be able to speak without losing control.  
Sarah nodded back stoically, then wrapped her arms around her husband, allowing herself to rest her head on his chest for just a moment before clearing her throat and taking a step back. She looked down at her clothes and said with a business-like tone, "I'm going to have to look the part."

Sarah removed her jacket and handed it to Chuck, who held onto it like a lifeline. She then removed a small dagger from her ankle holster and set about making ragged holes in her t-shirt and jeans. Next, she reached down and grabbed handfuls of dirt, applying it to her clothes, body, and face, before running her fingers through her golden locks and mussing them up appropriately. Finally, Sarah reached down to unzip her boots before removing them placing them in Chuck's arms as well.

"Well?" asked Sarah with false cheeriness, "Do I look like I'm about to be sold into slavery?" Chuck bit his lip without answering causing Sarah to drop her facade. "I'm so sorry Chuck, but I have to do this." Sarah turned to walk back to the rest of the team, and Chuck followed behind, as if in a daze.

"Okay," Sarah said, once she had reached Casey and Agent Sterling, "I'm ready."

"Great," said the agent. "Here's a tracker that can be inserted into your auditory canal. It should be undetectable."

Sarah placed the pill-shaped object in her ear and handed her weapons to Casey. "I assume I can't take these with me."

Agent Sterling shook his head. "I think the best way to get you in there is for you to wait outside of the storage container Brand uses as an office. You can pretend that you got separated from the other girls when they were moving you, but were too scared to run away. You speak Polish, correct?" Sarah nodded. "Good. Go with that."

"Wait a second," Chuck cut in anxiously, "Won't they be mad if they think she almost escaped?"

"They'll be furious," Agent Sterling concurred, making Chuck even more worried, "but she's too valuable an item to destroy. If they killed her they'd be losing out on a huge sum."

Chuck felt angry at the way Sterling was talking about his wife, and almost said so, but Sarah was already working out the rest of the plan with the agent. While they discussed how long it would take to pick up the GPS signal, and what Sarah should tell the other captives when she reached them, Chuck was trying to avoid thinking about the huge risk his wife was about to take. Casey, knowing that Chuck was suffering, enlisted him to help put all the weapons back, in order to distract him. It barely worked for five seconds but he appreciated the effort nonetheless.

About thirty minutes later, the moment Chuck was dreading arrived. It was time for Sarah to separate herself from the group and step into the lion's den. Once Sarah left his sight, Chuck knew there would be nothing he could do to protect her. He trusted his wife more than anyone, and knew she could take care of herself, but he still felt so nervous he thought he might vomit. He and Sarah shared an all too brief embrace, and whispered 'I love you', and Sarah turned to embark on her mission, alone.

That night was the worst since Sarah had been poisoned by the Norseman. Chuck lay awake in bed that whole night, wondering if Sarah had been found by the human traffickers yet, and if they were hurting her at that very second. In the darker areas of his mind, he also wondered if she was still alive, but he tried not to focus on those negative thoughts.

He ruminated once again on how difficult it had been to leave the storage facility. It had taken all his willpower to not stay at the location and watch Sarah's back. Only Casey's reminder that if he stayed he could blow Sarah's cover and get her killed convinced Chuck to go home. So he was there, lying in an all too empty bed, completely unable to take care of his wife, hoping that sleep would take pity on him and let him rest.

All of a sudden the phone on Chuck's bedside table rang, and Morgan's face popped up on the screen. Chuck considered ignoring it for a moment, not feeling up to a conversation with his friend, but he realized he hadn't talked to Morgan in a while, and it might be nice to have some support.

"Hey Morgan," Chuck answered.

"Chuck!" said Morgan. "Are you okay man?"

"Not really, buddy. Did Casey tell you what happened?"

"No. He said it was none of my business, but that maybe I should call you...which makes me think that it is my business, since your business is my business." Chuck almost smiled at his friend's mindless chatter. Almost.

"It's Sarah," he started to explain. "She went on this really dangerous undercover mission and I'm worried about her."

"Aw, Chuck, I'm sorry. What's the mission?"

"Human trafficking," said Chuck, feeling nausea bubble up just speaking the words.

Morgan whistled lowly. "That sucks. I can't imagine what she's dealing with. But I know Sarah, and she'll do great. You know she will. She's like a superhero."

"I know," replied Chuck, finally letting himself smile.

"Hey, do you want me to come over and keep you company?" asked Morgan. "We could watch the first three Indiana Jones movies."

"Thanks for the offer buddy, but it's late and I'm exhausted."

"Alright, Chuck. Call if you need anything."

"I will. Thanks."

Chuck hung up the phone, feeling quite a bit better than he had before his best friend had called. Morgan was right; Sarah was super. She could do anything, and that included taking down a group of pathetic human traffickers. Chuck was still worried, but thanks to Morgan, he was finally able to lie back and get some much-needed rest.

_Six days later_

When Casey arrived at Castle after taking a late lunch break, he was unsurprised to see that Chuck was already sitting in front of a computer. The dark-haired spy had been practically living there since Sarah had gone undercover.

Casey glanced over Chuck's shoulder at the red dot on the screen. That little dot had been Chuck's home base over the past few days. It showed where Sarah was, and although it hadn't moved much, it represented hope that Sarah was still alive.

The remaining members of Team Bartowski had hoped that Sarah would be moved to the new location sooner rather than later. This seemed to be too much to ask for however, because after nearly a week, her dot suggested she was still at the old headquarters. Chuck refused to let himself dwell on what that meant. If he did, he'd have to accept the fact that his wife was likely being tortured or abused or dead. And it was nearly impossible for him to resist going in to get her himself to begin with. The only reason he hadn't done that already was Casey's warning that the mission would be blown, Sarah would he endangered, and the kidnapped girls would never be saved.

"Any movement?" Casey asked the worried-looking man.

Chuck shook his head, looking dejected. "She must still be at the storage facility. I hope."

Casey could tell Chuck was anxious and tried to reassure him...in his own way. "Walker can handle herself. If she hasn't been moved by tomorrow morning then we'll go back in.

As soon as Casey finished talking, Chuck turned back to the screen and his eyes widened. "Casey! She's moving! They're moving her now!"

Casey was already grabbing weapons and other supplies. He threw a tranq gun to Chuck, and the two men were on their way in no time. They drove around for nearly an hour, following the winding path to the location Sarah was being taken. When they arrived at a rundown boathouse, Chuck nearly jumped out of the car but Casey held him back.

"We have to take our time with this, Bartowski! We can't move in until Sterling gets here."

Luckily Agent Sterling arrived only a few minutes later. He jogged over to Casey and Chuck and informed them that a SWAT team was on the way.

"They'd better get here soon..." Chuck warned, "or I'm going to go in myself. I need to know Sarah's safe."

Agent Sterling snorted. "You really have it bad for her, huh Bartowski?" Chuck looked at him in confusion. "Don't worry, chicks like her are a dime a dozen at the CIA. If she bites the bullet the CIA will just send another leggy blonde to take her place."

At Sterling's offensive words, Chuck was unable to control himself. He raised his fist and landed a blow against the agent's left cheek. Sterling staggered backwards and Chuck looked on in anger as Casey lunged to hold him back. It wasn't necessary though, because Chuck was over his initial fury and felt simply disgust and pity for the man before him.

"Don't _ever_ talk about my wife like that again," Chuck ordered.

Agent Sterling's eyes widened in shock. "Y-your _wife_? She's your wife?"

Chuck eyed him suspiciously, "Yes, she is. I thought you read our files."

"I did," the agent confirmed, "but they only went up until 2010. I'm sorry...I had no idea."

Chuck sighed and shook his head. "It's fine. It was just a misunderstanding."

Things continued to be a bit awkward until SWAT arrived, but from then on the mission moved quickly. They surrounded the shed behind the boathouse, from which shone a few portable lights. Brand his men were taken into custody without much trouble. Since they had just changed headquarters they felt more secure than before, and were taken completely off-guard when six heavily armed officers closed in around them. Once the human traffickers were all handcuffed and loaded into prison vans, Agent Sterling gave the order to rescue the girls. Chuck didn't need to be told twice. He was desperately worried about Sarah, and was the first to enter the boathouse.

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Thanks for reading, please revieiw!


	8. Chapter 8

Here is the final chapter of Chuck vs. The Fall. I want to thank everyone who read and reviewed, it means a lot to me that you enjoyed what I wrote!

And of course I don't own Chuck.

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Upon entering the boathouse, Chuck felt horribly sick. An unpleasant odor permeated the air, and once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Chuck saw dozens of young women who looked malnourished and frightened. Casey walked in after him and handed him a flashlight, while Agent Sterling calmly ordered, "Don't make any sudden movements. Let them see you mean no harm, then we'll give them blankets and water and load them up into the vans. I have a few translators waiting outside to tell them they're safe."

Chuck barely heard what the agent behind him was saying, because he was searching the crowded area for the woman he wanted to see more than anything. One of the taller girls approached him, and for a moment he thought she was going to attack him.

However, she simply rushed towards him and threw her arms around his neck. Chuck hugged her fiercely, realizing that it was his Sarah.

"Sarah! Baby, are you okay? I was so worried!"

"I'm fine Chuck," she mumbled into his shoulder. She stood there silently for a while, simply breathing in his scent, and for a moment Chuck wondered if she had fallen asleep.

"Honey? Are you sure you're okay?"

Sarah nodded and finally pulled away from him. Looking at the ground she said, "Can we go home?"

Chuck knew that technically his wife could not go home yet. First, the General would need to debrief her. Then she would have to go through the tests and psychological evaluations that were required of agents who spent an extended period of time undercover. Sarah knew the protocols even better than he, but if she wanted to go home then he would take her home. Grabbing her hand, he walked over to Casey and told him that they were leaving. Casey handed him the keys to the SUV, saying he'd get a ride home in a squad car. Chuck smiled gratefully and helped Sarah into the SUV, wanting to go home almost as badly as she.

The couple finally got to their apartment nearly forty-five minutes later, and Sarah had not said a word during the whole drive. Chuck had asked about her wellbeing a few times, but he didn't want to push when she was in such a fragile state. When they walked through the door, Sarah finally spoke.

"Do you mind if I take a shower?"

"Of course not," Chuck answered. "Do you need any help?"

Sarah shook her head and made her way to the bathroom. Chuck watched her walk away, saying a silent prayer of thanks that she was alive, and then went to their bedroom so he could change into his pajamas. Once he had changed, he laid down on the bed, planning on resting until Sarah was done showering, but instead fell fast asleep.

Chuck woke up nearly two hours later, and reached over to feel if Sarah had come to bed yet. Her side of the bed was still made, and Chuck realized that he could still hear the shower running. He leapt out of bed, immediately assuming the worst, and rushed to the bathroom.

"Sarah?" He flung the door open and shouted her name once again.

"I'm here Chuck!" she answered, her voice sounding a bit rough. "P-Please leave. I'll be right out." Chuck hesitated for a moment, but obeyed his wife's request.

As he wandered out into the kitchen, the spy felt his stomach churning with anxiety. He knew that Sarah's lengthy shower wasn't a good sign. As much as he didn't want to push her, he needed to know what had happened over the past week. When she came out of the bedroom a few minutes later clothed in the pajamas she usually reserved for the coldest day of the year, Chuck motioned for her to join him.

"Sarah, sweetie, I think we need to talk."

"I'm really tired right now Chuck; I'd rather just go to bed."

"Okay," Chuck conceded, "but will you just tell me one thing first?" Sarah nodded cautiously. "When you were undercover, were you...did they...I mean you were gone for a while..."

"No!" Sarah exclaimed. "They didn't do anything terrible. The only reason why it took me so long was that there was a group of girls in one of the storage containers. I guess they hadn't been moved yet. I was placed with them and had to wait for Brand and his men to transfer us all."

"Oh," Chuck said, immensely relieved. "I thought they were torturing you that whole time."

Sarah shook her head, giving him a small smile. "Can we go to bed now? I'm really tired."

"Of course," Chuck agreed, and followed his wife into their bedroom, happy to have her back once again.

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The next morning, Chuck and Sarah were awakened by both of their phones simultaneously. Sarah was impressed that Chuck had remembered to charge her phone while she was gone, and thanked him for doing so.

"It was the least I could do," he answered, before reading his message. "Beckman wants us in Castle in an hour."

"Uggghh..." Sarah groaned. Chuck felt warm inside knowing that he was the only person in the world who got to see super-spy Sarah Walker Bartowski in such a state.

"I'm gonna go shower," he said. "I expect you to be dressed and ready to go by the time I get back, Agent Walker," he teased.

Much to Chuck's disappointment, Sarah was indeed fully dressed and ready when he entered their room twenty minutes later. She went to the bathroom to apply her make-up while he changed, and the two left for Castle a short time later.

"Agent Walker, I'm glad to see you're doing well. Congratulations on a job well done," General Beckman commended.

"Thank you, General. Are the girls going to be alright?"

"They should be. We have people working with them on their physical and psychological health. Thanks to you they are all safe and we are in the process of searching for their families right now." Chuck smiled at his wife proudly as Beckman continued to speak.

"I called you in this morning to debrief you, as well as give you a timeframe for your mandatory psychological evaluation." Sarah nodded to show that she understood.

"Agent Bartowski, I'd like you to fill out the proper paperwork by tomorrow at midnight, but you are free to take the day off."

"Thanks, but I think I'll stay with Sarah," Chuck responded.

"I'm sorry Chuck, but I need to talk with Agent Walker one on one today."

"But General-"

"That is _final_, Agent Bartowski," Beckman said firmly.

Chuck looked at Sarah apologetically, but left as he had been told. He didn't have much to do, since Morgan was working, but he did send his friend a quick text telling him that Sarah was back safe and sound. Feeling terribly bored, Chuck decided to go grocery shopping. With Sarah gone for nearly a week he had forgotten to do mundane things like that. He also picked up some flowers and chocolate for her, just because he could. After putting away the groceries and tidying the apartment up a bit, he decided to go visit his sister and niece.

When he arrived, Ellie gave him a big hug. "I've been so worried! Any news from Sarah?"

Chuck felt a flicker of guilt that he had forgotten to tell Ellie that Sarah was back. He had been so caught up in his own concern that he'd forgotten Ellie was anxious too. "We went in last night and caught the bad guys. Sarah's at the debriefing now but she's doing okay."

"Okay? How could she possibly be okay after spending the week with human traffickers?"

"She actually spent most of her time with the victims."

"I don't know think that's much better, Chuck. She must have seen some horrible things. I don't think you can just jump back from that." Ellie was insightful as always.

"Yeah, I don't think so either. Sarah's been pretty distant; I'm a little worried," he admitted. "It's such a relief to have her back, but I want her to be happy again."

"She will be," Ellie assured him. "I know it's tough right now but just give her time and she'll get back to normal."

Just then, Clara started crying and Ellie went to get her out of her crib. Chuck stayed for a little while longer to play with his niece, but when it was time for her to eat dinner he said goodbye and left.

Chuck drove back to his apartment, deciding that Sarah must be done with her meetings by now. He was relieved when he saw her car parked in its usual spot. Maybe he could make dinner and they could have an honest conversation about what Sarah had been through.

When Chuck reached the door, he was surprised to find that it was locked, but he pulled out his key. None of the lights were on in the apartment, so he assumed that his wife was taking a nap.

Chuck sneaked down the hall to check on her, and peered around the half-open door. What he saw made him gasp. Sarah wasn't in bed napping. She was standing in front of the full-length mirror, completely undressed. But instead of the smooth, creamy skin that Chuck was used to, her entire body was marred by nasty, dark purple bruises and a few jagged red cuts.

Sarah noticed his entrance almost immediately, although in the back of his mind he knew that the spy should have known he was coming before he even entered the apartment. She grabbed the comforter off their bed and used it to cover herself, seeming ashamed.

"Chuck! What are you doing here?" she asked in a raised voice once her body was completely hidden.

Chuck ignored the silly question and approached her silently. When he reached her, he put out his hand to stroke her unmarred face.

"What happened?" he asked, in a daze.

"Nothing," she answered stubbornly. Chuck gave her a look of disbelief and she sighed. "You weren't supposed to see me like this."

"What? You were going to hide this from me? Seriously? Did you think I couldn't handle it?"

Sarah sighed again. As always, Chuck was taking responsibility for her faults. "No," she began, "well, yes, I guess." Chuck didn't look assured. "I just wasn't ready to tell you. That's why I asked Beckman to let me go to those meetings alone."

"You asked her to do that? Don't you trust me, Sarah?"

Sarah felt her heart break at his tone of voice. He had completely misunderstood her intentions.

"Of course I trust you, sweetie. I just didn't want you to get upset over what happened. I was trying to protect you."

"Baby, you don't have to protect me anymore. We're in this together. I'm here to help you through anything, even if it does upset me. Don't you know that by now?"

Sarah nodded and managed a smile. She was still self-conscious about the bruises, but she knew she would want Chuck to tell her if something like that had happened to him.

"Sarah?" Chuck asked cautiously. "Could I help you get cleaned up? You have a couple of cuts on your back that look pretty bad."

Sarah thought about his request. "I don't want you to see me like this," she admitted.

"Sarah, I don't care what you look like. You're _always_ beautiful. I just want to help you. Please? Will you let me take care of you?"

As she had done so many times in their marriage, Sarah wondered what she had done to deserve such a tall, dark, and caring man. And handsome too! She took a deep breath and gave Chuck her answer.

"Okay."

"You stay here and I'll go get the first aid kit."

Sarah did as she was told, and soon Chuck was rubbing ointment on her sores and applying bandages to the places on her back that she couldn't reach. As Chuck was patching her up, Sarah felt a bit teary. Her husband was so gentle and kind; she felt heart-warmed and it wasn't even Christmas yet.

Normally she felt fit and attractive, and worked hard to stay that way. Her career as a spy meant she had to maintain her outward appearance; her life and the lives of others depended on her beauty, brains, and bravery. When she had first met Chuck, she thought those things mattered to him too. He was clearly attracted to her appearance, her mind, and her skills. However, over the years she began realizing that his feelings weren't as superficial as that. He enjoyed being with her; not because she was a blonde bombshell and not because she was a super-spy, but because she was Sarah Walker. He loved her for who she was, all of who she was, and he would never stop. With this final thought, Sarah realized that she needed to give Chuck more credit. He could handle whatever life threw at them. And he deserved her honesty.

"Chuck," Sarah said, just as he was smoothing down her last bandage. He looked up at her with an open and loving expression.

"I'm - I'm ready to talk about what happened."

Chuck moved so that he was sitting on the bed facing Sarah. He was close enough to provide comfort and warmth but not so close that she would feel stifled. Looking into her eyes, he nodded to show he was ready.

"When I left you guys I went to wait outside the storage container that Brand and his men were using as headquarters. I knocked on the door and he came out right away. When he saw me he was furious." Sarah let out an involuntary shudder, causing Chuck to move a bit closer. His warmth gave her strength to continue. "I could have fought him off, taken him down. It would have been so easy. I could have taken all of them out, I really could have."

"I know that, I know you could have," Chuck soothed, knowing how hard it must have been for his self-sufficient wife to pretend to be helpless.

"But I had to let him punish me, beat me, so I could lead you and Casey to the girls."

"Oh, baby, what did he do to you?" Chuck didn't want to know, he didn't want to hear the terrible things that had happened to his wife, but she needed to talk and he was going to listen even if it killed him.

"Nothing too terrible. He mostly just hit me and kicked me...a lot." Sarah seemed lost in thought for a moment, then shook herself out of it. "It wasn't so bad."

"It sounds bad to me," Chuck said, not knowing if it was anger or sorrow that was making him nauseated. "Did that go on for the whole week?" Chuck asked, dreading the answer.

"No," Sarah assured him. "It turns out that there were a few girls he hadn't moved yet. I guess they were the ones who were too valuable for him to leave. He locked me up with them for the next few days. I think he was a little suspicious that he didn't remember me, but he wasn't about to lose money by killing me."

Chuck tried not to let it bother him how easily his wife talked about being murdered, and asked, "So you just stayed with the other women in the storage container for the next few days?"

"Not exactly." Sarah's expression darkened and Chuck braced himself for whatever she was about to share.

"First of all, it was awful being in there. I got used to the smell, and the filth, but I couldn't block out the noises."

"Noises?" asked Chuck, not understanding.

"The screaming, the crying. Some of the girls had been abused before they had been brought to Brand. Luckily he had a 'no testing the merchandise policy,' but it didn't make the girls any less scared. I tried to reassure them, but I didn't speak some of their languages. It was awful. I wanted to help them so badly, Chuck."

At the sight of Sarah's reddening eyes, Chuck began stroking her cheek. It was hard enough for him to hear about the terror she had lived with, let alone imagine being helpless to make it better. He lowered his hand to grasp hers and nodded encouragingly, hoping there wouldn't be much more to tell.

"Brand finally came to move us to the new location. He and his men loaded most of the girls into a van, but one girl refused to move. She couldn't have been older than nineteen, and she was just sitting in a corner, holding her head and whimpering. I felt so badly for her, Chuck. She was one of the girls who had horrible nightmares almost every night. I knew that if I helped her I could blow my cover, but she was so little and so scared, that when Brand went over to force her to move, I hit him."

Chuck put his hand to his forehead and noticed that he was sweating. God bless his wife; she was always looking out for people, and it was one of the things he loved about her. But she had taken a huge risk by striking her captor, and they both knew it.

"I'm so sorry, Chuck. I know I could have ruined everything."

"Hey, it's okay. It all worked out, didn't it?"

Sarah hesitated then nodded briefly. "Yeah, but he was really mad. He forgot about the teenager, but he beat me again, worse than before."

Chuck was once again feeling to sick to speak.

"But after that we were all moved to the new location and you found us." Sarah finally smiled, but Chuck still looked green. "I'm sorry, Chuck," she added.

Chuck suddenly found his voice. "Why are you sorry? None of this was your fault," he said forcefully. "You were so brave; I know it wasn't easy for you to pretend to be weak, but I am so proud of you."

"I got beaten up twice, Chuck. It's a little embarrassing."

Chuck grabbed Sarah by the shoulders but quickly released her when he saw her wince. "Sorry! Sorry! I forgot about the bruises. I just want you to understand that you did everything perfectly right, and the mission was completed successfully. And you're _alive_. That's all that matters."

Sarah nodded although she didn't seem convinced. Chuck became a bit worried about how hard she was being on herself and decided to ask how her psychological evaluation had gone.

"It was okay," Sarah answered cryptically, picking lint off of their blanket.

"What did the doctor say exactly?" Chuck prodded.

Sarah avoided his gaze. "Sarah," he warned, "We agreed to tell each other the truth, remember?"

Sarah sighed but nodded. "She said she's concerned that being contained with victims of trafficking might have thrown me off a bit, and that I have to do six weeks worth of counseling before I can return to the field."

"Good," said Chuck, relieved that Sarah would be getting some help.

"Good? How is that good? I'm going to be sitting behind a desk for the next six weeks!"

Chuck held up his hands in mock surrender. "I know you'll hate it, but I think it will be good for you. You've been through a lot on this mission. First the fall, then going undercover. I just know _I'll_ feel better knowing that you're taking time to fully recover, mentally and physically."

"I guess you're right," Sarah admitted. Hearing Chuck's reasoning made her feel better about what she'd be doing for the next several weeks. She would be bored, but Chuck was right: it was the best way for her to heal. Besides, Sarah knew her husband would make sure she was kept as busy as possible.

"Good," Chuck said confidently, full of faith in his wife and her ability to heal. "Now, how about I make you some dinner?"

"Nope," Sarah said, causing Chuck to look surprised. "_I'm_ going to cook tonight. Chicken Pepperoni?"

Chuck grinned widely. "You sure know how to make a man happy."

"I know how to make _you_ happy," she corrected. "Now kiss me before we both have pepperoni breath."

Chuck didn't need to be told twice. He gave his wife endless kisses, being extra careful of her bruises, and felt bubbles of happiness fill his body. Sarah was safe and on the path to recovery. They had each other, unconditionally. Everything was awesome.

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Well, I hope you enjoyed my story! Please review, and thanks again!


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